Mothers' Perspectives on Co-Parenting with African American Non-Resident Fathers.

Over half of African American (AA) children grow up in single-mother headed households. Strained relationships between co-parents can complicate and potentially thwart efforts for father engagement. Twelve mothers who served as data informants in a randomized control trial of a fatherhood intervention were recruited to describe their experiences co-parenting with nonresident AA fathers in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative descriptive content analysis of the data revealed three major themes that are used to identify innovative ways for researchers, policy makers, and mental health practitioners to support co-parents as they strive to engage in equitable shared parenting.

Fatherhood Matters: An Integrative Review of Fatherhood Intervention Research.

Positive father involvement is critical to the healthy social, emotional, and academic outcomes of children at all stages of development. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify, categorize, and evaluate the potential impact of fatherhood interventions on father and child outcomes. A systematic search of four major research databases yielded 44 studies published between 1988 and 2018 that met study inclusion criteria. The most effective interventions were delivered in the community, with fathers convened in groups. Content focused on promoting positive parenting, co-parenting, and father/child relationships. Consequently, father involvement and child cognitive and socioemotional development were improved. Academic settings were underutilized in the fatherhood interventions in this review. We conclude that in order to optimize healthy child development, school officials must adopt a more inclusive stance toward the involvement of fathers in their children's education. Future randomized trials of fatherhood interventions delivered within school-based settings are warranted.

Implementation of a Mental Health Nursing Practicum in an Urban Homeless Shelter.

BACKGROUND: People experiencing homelessness suffer from deficient access to health care and disproportionately poor health outcomes. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) maintains learning competencies for prelicensure nursing students. Shelters are rich environments for students to garner experiences with the inequities plaguing our health care system and to fulfill AACN competencies. METHOD: We established a psychiatric and mental health nursing practicum at a homeless shelter. Following a retrospective pretest methodology, we evaluated student learning with the Health Care Professional's Attitudes Toward the Homeless Inventory (HPATHI). Students, faculty, and shelter staff provided qualitative feedback postpracticum. RESULTS: Students' median HPATHI scores increased on 16 of 19 survey items. Qualitative feedback was largely positive and reinforced HPATHI data. CONCLUSION: The practicum provided rich learning experiences for students. Educators establishing shelter-based practica should prioritize continuity, develop referral pathways for residents with illness, maintain a flexible mindset, administer prospective student surveys, and solicit feedback from shelter residents. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].